Monthly Archives: September 2015

Andrew Muscato is the director of “Doped: The Dirty Side of Sports,” a new documentary examining the broken system of substance testing in pro sports. We discussed Lance Armstrong, testing in the Olympics, Major League Baseball, and how the systems in place tend to be inconsistent and oftentimes arbitrary.

“Doped: The Dirty Side of Sports,” narrated by Nick Kroll, premieres Wednesday, September 30 at 8/7C on EPIX.

I was thrilled to chat with Rod Argent & Colin Blunstone from The Zombies about their new album (“Still Got That Hunger”) and upcoming U.S. Tour. They will be playing their classic LP “Odyssey & Oracle” in its entirely along with songs from the new album and the timeless hits. We discussed how the new record came about, the old-school way it was recorded and produced, and how on earth nature continues to be defied with the quality of their vocals.

Joan Lunden called in to talk about her new book “Had I Known: A Memoir of Survival,” sharing her story about her recent battle with breast cancer. We discussed how the book started as her own personal journal, who she hopes will be inspired by the book, and why she’s determined to continue fighting the fight.

We always have a good time when Sandra Lee calls in, and this time she told us about her new partnership with Bob Evans to deliver a new line of convenience foods (and of course Sandra shared tips on dressing them up all fancy-like). Sandra also delivered some breaking news on mini Bob Evans locations coming soon to select Target stores in Chicago.

Jason Hanson is a former CIA officer, security specialist, and recent successful contestant on ABC’s “Shark Tank.” His new book is “Spy Secrets That Can Save Your Live.” We talked about basic protection and evasion techniques, how there’s no political divide when it comes to survival skills, and the #1 thing he took away from his time in the CIA that anyone can put to practical use.

Al Jean is an Emmy and Peabody award-winning writer and producer who has been working on “The Simpsons” since 1989. We talked about what we’ll see on Sunday’s season premiere (Season 27 on the 27th — 7pm CT on Fox 32 Chicago), how there’s an entire generation that has never known a world without The Simpsons, and what special guests will be making an appearance this season.

“Bizarre Foods” returns for its 9th season (where it will pass the 200 episode mark) Monday, September 28th at 8CT on Travel Channel. We chatted with host Andrew Zimmern about the season premiere (in which he is personally involved in regime change in Guatemala) and how his mission for the show remains consistent (why it’s much more than just “fat white guy goes around eating”).

It was an honor to visit with Roy Clark, legendary comedian, television host, and one of the greatest guitar players in the history of ever, about the DVD release of “Hee Haw.” We discussed his Roy Clark Big Note Songbook that inspired thousands to learn guitar (including me — I saw the commercial and begging my parents to call and order it), the success of “Hee Haw” in syndication after it was cancelled by CBS for being “too country,” and some of the impressive jam sessions that happened after rehearsals.

Jodie Sweetin called in to talk about her latest movie project, “Walt Before Mickey,” about the beginnings of Walt Disney’s career. She and the rest of the cast of “Fuller House” are pretty much sworn to secrecy by Netflix, but she did give us a couple of interesting nuggets.